Monday, December 30, 2013

Bryan Harsin could have stopped several hires ago, and he already would have had a far superior staff to the one at Boise State this past year. But he keeps the train rolling with Elijah Ddrinkwitz and former Bronco Antwon Murray.Drinkwitz was a running backs coach at Arkansas State under Harsin, and will coach tight ends for the Broncos. You already get the sense that being a great recruiter was a prerequisite for joining Harsin's staff at Boise State, for every coach he has is an amazing recruiter.

Friday, December 27, 2013

You always hoped that it would never come to this, but of course, he isn't the first. Boise State defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has announced that he will leave school early and enter the draft. Of course, we want what is best for DeMarcus, but really what should happen is an NFL rule that they can't take college kids early. I know, pipe dream...

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin continues to build a stellar staff, announcing the additions of Steve Caldwell, Julius Brown and Brian Wilkinson.

Caldwell coached the defensive line at Arkansas State this past season. He has more than 30 years of coaching experience and has been a part of two national championship teams, including Tennessee in 1998.

Brown was a cornerback coach at Arkansas State this year, coming from Troy. He also is a former Bronco player and coach, having served as Director of Player Personnel in 2009 and 2010 and a graduate assistant in 2007 and 2008.

Brown was a three-year starter for the Broncos on some of their best teams from 2000-03, helping Boise State win the Western Athletic Conference Championship in 2002 and 2003 and the Big West Championship in 2000. Brown was an Honorable Mention All-WAC choice and led the league in basses defended.Wilkinson will serve as Director of Football Operations.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Jeff Pittman has made the long round trip flight back to Boise. The former Bronco center and super strength and conditioning coach who left Boise State with Dan Hawkins to Colorado, then coached at Arkansas State under Bryan Harsin, will join Harsin in Boise.Welcome Back, Coach Pitt!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Mike Sanford, who led Stanford to three consecutive BCS Bowl appearances, will leave Stanford and come to Boise State as Offensive Coordinator for the Broncos.Stanford won the Pac-12 Championship in both 2012 and 2013 and will be making a second straight Rose Bowl appearance this January. Sanford played quarterback for Boise State from 2002-2005.Seems like coaches are leaving AQ teams in favor of Boise State.

Marcel Yates, one of the most respected ex-Bronco players and coaches, is coming home!Bryan Harsin, who took over for Chris Petersen at Boise State, has lured Texas A&M Defensive Coordinator Yates to take over the Bronco defense next year. It's a major coup for Harsin. Boise State's defense struggled mightily this past season, and Yates, who previously coached the Bronco secondary for nine seasons, is also a top-notch recruiter.In Yates' previous tenure at Boise State from 2003-2011, Yates coached five future NFL players: Gerlad Alexander (second round draft choice of Detroit in 2007), Orlando Scandrick, who is having a super year in Dallas this year, Kyle Wilson (first round draft pick of the Jets in 2010), Brandyn Thompson (7th round selection of Washington in 2011) and George Iloka (fifth round pick of Cincinnati in 2012).

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Fan favorite Andy Avalos will stay at Boise State to coach the defensive line--that's the word we get from Boise State. Also, Scott Huff, a solid recruiter and another former Bronco player, will stay and coach the offensive line.Kent Riddle is the first of Coach Harsin's assistants at Arkansas State to be confirmed to be coming with him to Boise. Riddle coached at Oregon State (1993-94) and Army (1995-2000), then coached running backs at Boise State and was one of the top special teams coaches in school history from 2001-2005. In other news, running back Aaron Balthazar has been told to leave the team and will leave school at the conclusion of the semester.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Boise State defensive end Demarcus Lawrence was named today to the Walter Camp Second Team All-America Team. Lawrence was 10th in the nation with 10.5 sacks, fifth in the history of Boise State, brining him to 20.0 career sacks.Boise State fans are eager for him to finish what he started with a stellar season campaign.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Running back Jay Ajayi, offensive tackle Charles Leno, defensive tackle Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe and defensive end Demarcus Lawrence were named to the 2013 All-Mountain West football team, the league announced.Center Matt Paradis, cornerback Donte Deayon and safety Jeremy Ioane were named to the second team.Placekicker Dan Goodale and wide receivers Matt Miller and Shane Williams-Rhodes were named honorable mention.The thing that stands out there is Miller as honorable mention? Tough for the league's best receiver to be so ignored by the Mountain West coaches.

Blue Football Through and Through has learned that Bryan Harsin will be announced as the next head football coach at Boise State University. Once again, we were the first Idaho source to report the news.

Harsin, who gained instant national recognition as the offensive coordinator responsible for Boise State's thrilling win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl in his first season in that position, takes over for Chris Petersen, who left for the University of Washington last Friday. Petersen compiled a 92-12 record as Boise State's head coach from 2006-2013, but suffered his worst year at Boise State this season, going 8-4.

Harsin has been head coach at Arkansas Statefor the past season, guiding the Red Wolves to a share of the Sun Belt Conference title.

Harsin's ascent to this position has been rapid. A graduate of Boise's Capital High School, Harsin played backup quarterback at Boise State from 1995-1999 and earned his degree in Business Management. After graduating from Boise State, Harsin became the quarterback and running backs coach at Eastern Illinois in 2000.

He returned to his Alma mater in 2001 as a graduate assistant under former head coach Dan Hawkins. Hawkins promoted him the next year to tight ends coach, where he served from 2001-2005.

When Petersen took the reins of the Bronco football program in 2006, he immediately entrusted Harsin with control of the powerful Boise State offense, naming Bryan as his offensive coordinator. In his first season, Harsin validated that trust in helping to guide the Broncos to a perfect 13-0 season as the nation's only undefeated team, a season that culminated in the historic Fiesta Bowl victory. Harsin's Boise State offense rolled up 377 yards in the win over the tough blue-blood defense of Oklahoma.

Harsin remained in control of the Bronco offense through the 2010 season. During this time, the Broncos led the nation in 2009 with an average of 42.21 points per game, and finished in the Top 15 in scoring offense all five years.

Boise State averaged 39.69 points a game in Harsins' first year, second in the country. They were fourth in 2007, averaging 42.38 points a game, then 12th in 2008 (37.62), and second only to Oregon in 2010 with 45.08 points a game.

By comparison, the Broncos slipped to 54th in scoring by 2012 (30.23 points a game). Boise State rebounded to average 38.8 points in 2013, although the Broncos averaged just 28.8 points a game vs. teams with a winning record.

While he was coaching the Boise State tight ends, Harsin helped develop Derek Schouman into one of the best tight ends in school history. Schouman played through injuries to nonetheless record 78 catches as a four-year starter for 1,009 yards and 11 touchdowns. Schouman's clutch catch on fourth down in overtime helped set up the famous Statue of Liberty play that enabled Boise State to defeat the Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Schouman played for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and started fourteen games in 2008 and 2009.

Running back Ian Johnson rushed for 1,713 yards (second in the NCAA) and led the nation in rushing touchdowns (25) and scoring (152 points, 12.67 points per game) in 2006. Harsin helped guide Bronco quarterback Jared Zabransky to an outstanding senior season in 2006, when he completed 191-of-288 passes (66.32%) for 2,587 yards and 23 touchdowns against just 8 interceptions. Zabransky finished the year as the nation's sixth-best quarterback in passing efficiency (162.6).

In 2007, Harsin helped Taylor Tharp succeed in his only year as a starter, completing 289-of-423 passes (68.32%) for 3,340 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, good for seventh in the country in passing efficiency (152.9).

Quarterback Kellen Moore took over in 2008, and under Harsin's tutelage, earned Freshman of the Year honors in the Western Athletic Conference, completing an NCAA freshman record 69.4% (281-405) of his passes, with 25 touchdown passes and just 10 interceptions. Moore went on to become a Heisman Trophy finalist and set another NCAA mark in 2009 when his interception ratio of .70% (3 interceptions in 431 attempts) was the lowest in recorded history, and yet another NCAA record in 2011 as the winningest quarterback in college football history with a sparkling 50-3 record as a starter.

Moore led the nation in passing efficiency in 2010, topping Heisman winner Cam Newton with a rating of 182.63, and completed 273-of-383 passes (71.28%) for 3,845 yards and 35 touchdowns vs. only 6 interceptions.

Harsin also helped develop running back Doug Martin into not only one of the nation's best collegiate running backs (1,260 yards and 6.27 yards per carry in 2010), but now one of the NFL's best with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

During Harsin's five years as offensive coordinator, Boise State's offenses included Ryan Clady, a Boise State All-American and now All-Pro tackle with the Denver Broncos, Nate Potter, a second-round draft choice of the Arizona Cardinals, and Austin Pettis, a third-round selection of St. Louis and now a star receiver with the Rams.

Harsin's offenses at Boise State produced 19 all-conference players in five seasons, and the WAC Offensive Player of the Year twice (Moore in 2009 and co-winner in 2010).

Harsin completed his stint as Boise State's offensive coordinator in 2010 with a 61-5 record, including two undefeated seasons, and two Fiesta Bowl championships, defeating Oklahoma in 2007 and TCU in 2010. Harsin was a key factor in helping Boise State compile the second-most consecutive regular season home victories in college football history (65 from 2001-2010), the fifth-best 10-year regular season home record (62-1 from 2001-2010), the 14th-best 50-game home record in NCAA history (49-1 through 2008), and the ninth-best 75-game home record (73-2 from 1999-2010).

When Harsin left Boise State, the Broncos had tied Yale (1894-1896), Oklahoma (2002-2004) and USC (2003-2005) for third place all-time with three consecutive 12-win seasons. The Broncos continued that streak in 2011 for sole possession of third place.

With Harsin guiding the Bronco offense, Boise State set a modern record for the most wins in a three-year period with 38, topping the existing mark set by the great Nebraska teams of 1993-1995 (36-1). It was the most wins for a college football team in a three-year period in 113 years (Pennsylvania went 39-4 from 1892-1894).

Harsin left Boise State to become the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Texas, where he served in 2011 and 2012. At Austin, Harsin rescued a Longhorn offense that had been ranked 88th in the year before he was hired (23.75 points a game), and rapidly improved it to 23rd (35.69 ppg) by 2012.

Sources say its down to Jeff Tedford and Dirk Koetter, but Boise State would be stupid to take Tedford. Have no idea why Justin Wilcox wouldn't be either the favorite or #2.I'm still predicting Wilcox.(Update: Arkansas State saying they haven't been told he withdrew, but that doesn't mean he hasn't.) Could be contract negotiations with the first choice hit a snag.

All three top candidates have been interviewed, and we believe that Justin Wilcox and Dirk Koetter are being called back for second interviews today. All indications are that a press conference will be either Wednesday or Thursday. We believe Boise State is close to getting their man.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Generally, schools like to name a successor the same day their former coach is announced at a new school, to show they're on the ball, so to speak. We now know that Boise State's press conference could be Wednesday or Thursday, or perhaps even Friday.

Koetter was scheduled to fly to Boise last night. Instead, he flew home from the Falcons' game in Green Bay back to Atlanta. His interview will be by phone--not sure why. Harsin is in Boise. It doesn't necessarily mean one of those will be the next coach.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Here are the results for former Boise State players in the NFL. We're seeing more and more that the teams that use former Broncos the most have the best chance to win. In other words, if they're given a chance, they produce and help their team to victory, just as they did at Boise State. This will be updated as results come in.Chase Baker--Minnesota Vikings (no stats in Minnesota loss)Richie Brockel--Carolina Panthers Chris Carr--New Orleans Saints Ryan Clady--Denver Broncos (out for the season with an injury)Daryn Colledge--Arizona Cardinals (starting lineman in Arizoan win)Tyrone Crawford--Dallas Cowboys (is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon)George Iloka--Cincinnati Bengals (3 tackles, 1 solo, in Bengal win)Jeron Johnson--Seattle Seahawks (no stats in Seattle loss)Doug Martin--Tampa Bay Buccaneers (out for the season)Shea McClellin--Chicago Bears (Quintin Mikell--Carolina Panthers (Kellen Moore--Detroit Lions (did not play while his starter went 10-25 in another Detroit loss)Austin Pettis--St. Louis Rams (1 catch for 19 yards in Ram loss)Nate Potter--Arizona Cardinals (lineman for Arizona in win)Orlando Scandrick--Dallas Cowboys (Jamar Taylor--Miami Dolphins (Kyle Wilson--New York Jets (1 solo tackle in Jet win)Billy Winn--Cleveland Browns (1 QB hurry in Cleveland loss)

The #1 factor in ranking teams is their Biggest Wins, losses are most damaging if they are to unranked teams. This encourages teams to schedule other Top 25 teams.

This poll had Clemson, UCLA, Auburn and Michigan State ranked before anyone else "in the know". And, everyone now knows how solid those four teams are. On the other hand, we were reluctant on Ohio State, Baylor, Fresno State and Northern Illinois. We will let you judge which teams turned out better. Many polls had Ohio State ranked high. That was a mistake, and those who had the Buckeyes ranked high paid for it. We didn't

The SEC has eight teams in the Top 25, while the Pac-12 has five. Those are (by far) the top two conferences in the nation this year.

7-7. Missouri (11-2) came up short against #1 Auburn 59-42, Biggest Wins over #20 Texas A&M and #22 Georgia, Lost to #1 Auburn and #5 South Carolina9-8. UCF (11-1) squeaked by SMU 17-13, Biggest Win over #17 Louisville, Lost to #5 South Carolina4-9. Ohio State (12-1) lost to #6 Michigan State 34-24, Biggest Win over #23 Wisconsin, Lost to #6 Michigan State6-10. Arizona State (10-3) lost to #4 Stanford 44-14, Biggest Wins over #14 UCLA, #23 Wisconsin and #25 Washington, Lost to #4 Stanford (twice) and Notre Dame17-11. Baylor (11-1) pounded #24 Texas 30-10, Biggest Wins over #15 Oklahoma and #24 Texas, Lost to #16 Oklahoma State11-12. Clemson (10-2) did not play, Biggest Win over #22 Georgia, Lost to #1 Florida State and #8 South Carolina13-13. Oregon (10-2) was not on the field in the Pac-12 Championship, Biggest Wins over #14 UCLA and #25 Washington, Lost to #4 Stanford and Arizona

14-14. UCLA (9-3) did not play, Biggest Wins over #25 Washington and USC, Lost to #4 Stanford, #10 Arizona State and #13 Oregon

18-15. Oklahoma (10-2) turned back #16 Oklahoma State 33-24, Biggest Win over #16 Oklahoma State, Lost to #11 Baylor and #24 Texas12-16. Oklahoma State (10-2) lost to #15 Oklahoma 33-24, Biggest Wins over #11 Baylor and #24 Texas, Lost to #15 Oklahoma and West Virginia16-17. Louisville (11-1) tipped Cincinnati 31-24 in overtime, Biggest Win over Cincinnati, Lost to #8 UCF19-18. LSU (9-3) did not play, Biggest Wins over #1 Auburn and #22 Texas A&M, Lost to #3 Alabama, #22 Georgia and Mississippi

21-19. Fresno State (12-1) rebounded to top Utah State 34-24, Biggest Win over Rutgers, Lost to San Jose State22-20. Texas A&M (8-4) did not play, Biggest Win over Mississippi, Lost to #1 Auburn, #3 Alabama, #7 Missouri and #18 LSU23-21. Vanderbilt (8-4) was idle, Biggest Win over #22 Georgia, Lost to #5 South Carolina, #7 Missouri, #20 Texas A&M and Mississippi24-22. Georgia (8-4) did not play this week, Biggest Wins over #5 South Carolina and #18 LSU, Lost to #1 Auburn, #7 Missouri, #11 Clemson and #21 Vanderbilt25-23. Wisconsin (9-3) was idle, Biggest Win over BYU, Lost to #9 Ohio State, #10 Arizona State and Penn State20-24. Texas (8-4) lost to #11 Baylor 30-10, Biggest Win over #15 Oklahoma, Lost to #11 Baylor, #16 Oklahoma State, Mississippi and BYU---25. Washington (8-4) was idle, Biggest Win over Arizona, Lost to #4 Stanford, #10 Arizona State, #13 Oregon and #14 UCLA

Dropped Out: Northern Illinois

Also Considered:

25-out. Northern Illinois (12-1) was ransacked by Bowling Green 47-27, Biggest Win over Ball State, Lost to Bowling GreenUSC (9-4) did not play, Biggest Win over #5 Stanford, Lost to #6 Arizona State, #14 UCLA, Notre Dame and Washington State

Saturday, December 7, 2013

At least coaches Kwiatkowski and Prince are going to UW with Petersen. There is speculation about others, but I'll only talk about what is known.As for the candidates and the time taken to announce a head coach, I can tell you that Athletic Director Mark Coyle is working hard to get the right hire. I believe he had a short list in this eventuality, but he has received so many applications from quality people that he needs to exercise diligence to go through the process. They want to be sure they get this right.There were six top candidates: Bob Gregory, Bryan Harsin, Dirk Koetter and Justin Wilcox were four of them. I believe Kwiatkowski may have been another and has been ruled out, but I am unsure about a sixth, although it could be Jeff Tedford. However, as I said, there are numerous other high quality applicants.Knowing what I know about Coyle and especially Bob Kustra, I expect an announcement Monday if not before.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Bob Gregory handled the linebackers this year, and we all know what a great job they did. He was Boise State's defensive coordinator in 2001, and he will be Boise State's interim head coach for the bowl season.

Coach Chris Petersen is leaving Boise State after leading the Broncos to their worst season since at least 2001. His last few years weren't happy ones--the NCAA violations, the suspensions, kicking players off the team. Pete was 92-12 since taking over in 2006, with a quarter of those losses happening this year.Boise State has already received dozens of applications for the vacant head coaching job. I expect an announcement fairly soon.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Here are the results for former Boise State players in the NFL. We're seeing more and more that the teams that use former Broncos the most have the best chance to win. In other words, if they're given a chance, they produce and help their team to victory, just as they did at Boise State. This will be updated as results come in.Chase Baker--Minnesota Vikings (no statistics in Minnesota win)Richie Brockel--Carolina Panthers (no stats in Carolina win)Chris Carr--New Orleans Saints (1 solo tackle in Saint loss)Ryan Clady--Denver Broncos (out for the season with an injury)Daryn Colledge--Arizona Cardinals (starting lineman for Arizona in loss)Tyrone Crawford--Dallas Cowboys (is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon)George Iloka--Cincinnati Bengals (6 tackles, 4 solo, and a fumble recovery in Bengal win)Jeron Johnson--Seattle Seahawks (no statistics in Seattle win)Doug Martin--Tampa Bay Buccaneers (out for the season)Shea McClellin--Chicago Bears (2 tackles in Bear loss)Quintin Mikell--Carolina Panthers (5 tackles, 2 solo, and a pass deflection in Carolina win)Kellen Moore--Detroit Lions (no stats in Detroit win)Austin Pettis--St. Louis Rams (1 catch for 11 yards in Ram loss)Nate Potter--Arizona Cardinals (lineman for Arizona in loss)Orlando Scandrick--Dallas Cowboys (4 tackles, 3 solo, and a pass deflection in Dallas win)Jamar Taylor--Miami Dolphins (no stats in Dolphin win)Kyle Wilson--New York Jets (no stats, not used as a punt returner in Jet loss)Billy Winn--Cleveland Browns (1 solo tackle, a tackle for loss, in Brown loss)

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The #1 factor in ranking teams is their Biggest Wins, losses are most damaging if they are to unranked teams. This encourages teams to schedule other Top 25 teams.

This poll had Clemson, UCLA, Auburn and Michigan State ranked before anyone else "in the know". And, everyone now knows how solid those four teams are.

We don't consider Duke (which lost to Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech), because they lost to Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech and their biggest win is over an unranked Miami of Florida. We don't consider Cincinnati (which was creamed by Illinois and lost to South Florida), because they lost to Illinois and South Florida.

Unlike the polls, the Blue Football Through and Through Top 25 uses logic. Mississippi must be ahead of LSU because both teams have the same record and the Rebels beat the Tigers. The polls seem to forget the actual results. We don't.

The SEC has eight teams in the Top 25, while the Pac-12 has four. Those are (by far) the top two conferences in the nation this year.

6-7. Missouri (11-1) came from behind to beat #22 Texas A&M 28-21, Biggest Wins over #24 Georgia and #24 Texas A&M, Lost to #8 South Carolina10-8. South Carolina (10-2) knocked off #11 Clemson 31-17, Biggest Wins over #7 Missouri, #11 Clemson and #11 UCF, Lost to #24 Georgia and Tennessee11-9. UCF (10-1) got by 2-9 South Florida 23-20, Biggest Win over #16 Louisville, Lost to #8 South Carolina8-10. Michigan State (11-1) downed Minnesota 14-3, Biggest Win over Minnesota Lost to Notre Dame7-11. Clemson (10-2) lost to #8 South Carolina 31-17, Biggest Win over #24 Georgia, Lost to #1 Florida State and #8 South Carolina

14-12. Oklahoma State (10-1) did not play, Biggest Wins over #17 Baylor and #20 Texas, Lost to West Virginia

13-13. Oregon (10-2) escaped with a 36-35 win over Oregon State in the final seconds, Biggest Wins over #14 UCLA and Washington, Lost to #5 Stanford and Arizona

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Boise State now is just one season shy of moving into sixth place all-time for the most consecutive eight-win seasons. The Broncos are seventh in the last 107 years with 15 straight years of eight or more victories.Nebraska is the runaway record holder with 33 consecutive seasons of eight or more wins. The Cornhuskers accomplished their amazing run from 1969-2001. Michigan recorded eight or more wins from 1985-2004 for 20 straight seasons, while Princeton (1888-1906) and Florida State (1987-2005) are tied with 19 straight years.Georgia and Texas ended great streaks of 13 and 12 consecutive seasons, respectively, in 2009.

Miller is one behind teammate Shane Williams-Rhodes, who had 77 prior to suffering a season-ending injury last week. The school record is held by Jeremy Childs with 82, while Titus Young had 79 in 2009.

With 123 yards thus far, Jay Ajayi has passed former Bronco great Doug Martin for fourth place all-time for rushing yards in a season. Martin had 1,299 in the 2011 season, while Ajayi now has 1,304.Ajayi is well short of legend Cedric Minter, who motored for 1,526 yards in a season.

Friday, November 29, 2013

The 2013 Boise State Senior Class has accomplished much during its time in Idaho's capital city. Since 2010, 10 of the Bronco seniors have either earned all-conference honors, All-Academic honors, or both. With post-season honors still to be awarded, the Bronco Senior Class has received a total of 20 all-conference honors on and off the field.It has been a record-breaking run for these seniors.The Broncos broke their own modern record earlier this year for the most wins in a 15-year period. With at least two games to play, Boise State is 164-28 since 1999. Florida State held the modern mark of 160-23-1 from 1987-2001 until Boise State broke it last year, going 163-29 from 1998-2012. The Boise State seniors also made sure they extended the school streak of seven or more victories to 15 consecutive seasons. They moved the school up to 17th in college football history with that streak.Entering the final week of the regular season, these seniors have led Boise State to a 42-8 record over the last four years. That mark is ahead of LSU (42-9), ahead of Florida State (42-10), ahead of Oklahoma (41-10), ahead of Ohio State (29-8), in fact ahead of every college football team in the nation except Alabama (46-5), Oregon (45-6), Stanford (44-7) and Northern Illinois (46-8).Besides being the fifth-best senior class in America, the 2013 Bronco senior class is the 12th straight class at Boise State to win 40 or more games in four years. The Bronco seniors helped the team to a 12-1 record, culminating in a 26-3 win over Utah in the Maaco Bowl. The following year, Boise State went 12-1, with a 56-24 victory over Arizona State in the Maaco Bowl. Last season, the Broncos finished with an 11-2 mark, beating Washington 28-26 in the Las Vegas Bowl. And Boise State is 7-4 this season.But this class's achievements go far beyond the playing field. For three years in a row, Boise State's football team has ranked among the nation's top 10 percent for Academic Progress Rate or APR, which measures eligibility and retention of a team's student-athletes. Boise State is one of just seven schools to accomplish that feat, with the others being Clemson, Northwestern, Duke, Rutgers, Rice and Ohio State. Leading up to their senior year, the Broncos had a four-year score of 993 (a school record), which was second in the nation to Northwestern (996). Boise State was tied for second last year with Duke, both with scores of 989.

The 2013 Bronco seniors also left Boise State with the best winning percentage of all-time among major college schools: Boise State is 176-50 (77.88%) as a major college football team, besting Michigan (73.36%), Notre Dame (73.34%), Oklahoma (71.99%), Ohio State (71.86%), Texas (71.61%) and Alabama (71.51%).By clinching a winning season several weeks ago, the 2013 class also preserved Boise State's lead for the highest percentage of winning seasons as a major college school. The Broncos have finished with winning seasons in 16-of-18 years (88.89%), to top Michigan (87.90%), Alabama (87.27%) and Ohio State (87.25%).Join Bronco Nation Saturday in Bronco Stadium to salute these 16 great Bronco seniors:

#17 Geraldo Boldewijn, Wide Receiver

Geraldo made his first career start as a freshman in 2010, and finished the year with 11 catches for 160 yards (14.5 yards per catch). In 2011, Boldewijn started three games, and finished the season with 19 receptions for 266 yards (14.0) and two touchdowns. Last year, he started four games, and finished with 18 catches for 197 yards and two scores.Boldewijn has set career highs in 2013 with 34 catches for 474 yards (13.9 per catch) and two touchdowns. Starting every game this season, Geraldo has combined with Shane Williams Rhodes (77 receptions) and Matt Miller (68) to set the school record for receptions by a trio with 179.In his Bronco career, the gifted Boldewijn has caught 82 passes for 1,097 yards (13.4 yards per catch) and six TD's. Boldewijn currently ranks 32nd in Boise State history in career receptions (82) and 30th in career yards (1,097).

#32 Jonathan Brown, Linebacker

In 2010, Brown was credited with 16 tackles, 5 of them solo, with .5 tackles for loss and two passes defended. He was named to the Western Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. The following year, Jonathan earned four starts, and finished the year with 19 tackles, 9 solo, 2.5 for loss, a forced fumble, and an interception. Brown was once again an All-Academic performer, this time in Boise State's new conference, the Mountain West. In 2012, Brown had 10 tackles, 7 solo, with 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and a pass defended, and was named to the Mountain West All-Academic Team.Coming back after a season opening injury, Jonathan has seven tackles, .5 for loss, this year.Brown has posted 52 tackles, 26 of them solo, with 3.5 tackles for loss, three passes defended, one sack, two forced fumbles and an interception in his Bronco career.

#76 Jake Broyles, Offensive Line

In 2010, Broyles played in five games. The following year, Jake made three starts before a season-ending injury. In 2012, Broyles made one start and played in four games.Jake has played in four games this season.

#18 Aaron Burks, Wide Receiver

Burks played in 10 games as a freshman, and grabbed six catches for 58 yards. He played in all 13 games as a sophomore, winding up the season with six receptions for 57 yards. Last season, Aaron made two starts and played in all 13 games, finishing his best season with 17 catches for 319 yards and his first touchdown as a Bronco.So far in 2013, Burks has played in eight games with one start, and caught 16 passes (fifth on the team) for 286 yards and three TD's. Burks leads the Broncos in yards per catch with 17.9.Entering the final stretch of his career, Aaron has hauled in 45 receptions for 710 yards (15.7 yards per catch) and four touchdowns. Burks ranks 19th in school history for yards per catch.

#77 Spencer Gerke, Guard

Spencer played in three games in 2010. In 2011, he made two starts and saw action in all 13 games, helping the Broncos lead the nation for the fewest sacks (.62 per game) and finish fifth in scoring (44.23 points per game). Spencer was named to the All-Academic Team in the Mountain West Conference.Gerke has started every game this season, helping the Bronco offense rank 14th in the country in first downs (280), 18th in scoring (38.2 points a game) and 20th in third-down conversion percentage (48.3%).

#14 Trevor Harman, Punter

In 2010, Harman was the kickoff specialist, kicking off 82 times for an average of 63.8 yards, including nine touchbacks. He also punted 10 times for 447 yards (44.7 average). Four of those kicks were over 50 yards, and three were inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Against Idaho, Harman set a school record by averaging 53.2 yards on five kicks, including one for 64 yards. At the conclusion of the year, Trevor was named to the WAC All-Academic Team. The next year, Harman averaged 65.2 yards on 97 kickoffs, including 17 touchbacks, and was credited with six tackles, five of them solo. Once again, the studious Harman was named to the All-Academic Team, this time in the Mountain West. Last season, Harman became the Broncos' full-time punter, averaging 41.2 yards on 42 punts. He booted 11 punts over 50 yards, and 8 inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He also kicked off 56 times for a 60.6 average, including 10 touchbacks, and had 4 tackles, 3 of them solo. Harman also ran the ball 21 yards on a fake punt. Harman was named to the conference All-Academic Team for the third straight year.This year, Trevor has punted 25 times for a 43.1 average with a long of 67 yards, six kicks over 50 yards, and nine punts inside the 20. Harman and Sean Wales have combined to place Boise State 32nd in the country in net punting (39.3 yards per punt).

In his Bronco career, Harman has punted 77 times for 3,255 yards for an average of 42.27 yards per punt. To this point, Harman is right behind Kyle Stringer (197 punts for a 42.3 average from 2003-2006) for fourth place at Boise State. He has 21 punts over 50 yards to his credit, and 20 of his punts have resulted in the opponent starting out shy of their 20-yard line. Harman has kicked off 235 times for 14,954 yards an average of 63.63 yards.

#56 Dustin Kamper, Linebacker

Kamper walked on to Boise State, and played in three games as a freshman. The following year, Kamper played in one game, the Maaco Bowl, against Arizona State. In 2012, Kamper played in six games and posted three solo tackles. At the end of the year, Dustin was honored to be on the Mountain West All-Academic Team.This year, Kamper has played in nine games and has nine tackles, two solo, one interception that he returned for 20 yards, and a pass defended.In his Bronco career, Kamper has 12 tackles, 5 of them solo, with an interception and a pass defended.

#78 Charles Leno, Jr., Tackle

The latest in a long line of great Bronco offensive tackles, Leno played in two games as a freshman, then started every game in 2011, helping Boise State lead the nation with .62 sacks per game, and rank fifth in scoring at 44.23 points per game. In 2012, Leno extended his starting streak to 26 games, helping Boise State allow just .77 sacks per game. Charles was named Second Team All-Mountain West at the end of the year.This season, Leno has started every game, and helped the Bronco offense rank 14th in the country in first downs (280), 18th in scoring (38.2 points a game) and 20th in third-down conversion percentage (48.3%).

#87 Gabe Linehan, Tight End

In 2009, Gabe was named as Boise State's Special Teams Scout Player of the Year as a redshirt. He hit the field strong in 2010, making 4 starts and playing in 12 games, finishing the season with 6 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Linehan was named to the WAC All-Academic Team. In 2011, Linehan started nine games, finishing with 23 receptions for 252 yards and 5 touchdowns. Last year, Gabe had one start and played in four games before a season-ending injury that limited his totals to one catch for 23 yards.Injuries have hampered Linehan most of his senior year, but he has made the most of his two catches--38 yards for an average of 19.0 yards per catch.In his Bronco career, Linehan has 32 receptions for 395 yards (14th in school history among tight ends) and 6 touchdowns.

#37 Ebo Makinde, Safety

In his freshman season, Makinde played in eight games, making four tackles, two of them solo. He was named to the WAC All-Academic Team. In 2011, Ebo made four starts and played in seven games, recording 16 tackles, 9 of them solo, 1 tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception and 3 passes defended. Ebo earned All-Academic honors in the Mountain West. The next year, Makinde played in 10 games, posting 7 tackles, 6 of them solo. Once again, Ebo was named to the Mountain West All-Academic Team.This year, Makinde has played in five games with six tackles, five of them solo. In his four-year career, Ebo has registered 33 tackles, 22 of them solo, with one tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception, and three passes defended.

#48 Kharyee Marshall, STUD

Marshall played in 10 games as a freshman, making an immediate impact with 10 tackles, 5 of them solo, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack. Marshall played in five games as a sophomore before a season-ending injury. In 2012, Kharyee played in 11 games, posting 18 tackles (8 solo), with 1.5 tackle for loss and a forced fumble.Kharyee has saved his best season for last, starting every game and posting 29 tackles, 19 of them solo, with 6.5 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, and a pass defended.In his Bronco career, Marshall has 57 tackles, 32 solo, 10 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass defended.

#34 Kirby Moore, Wide Receiver

Kirby started two games as a freshman and played in all 13 games, grabbing 21 passes for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns. He redshirted the next year, then started three games as a sophomore, with 22 catches for 247 yards and a touchdown. Kirby was named to the Mountain West Academic Team, and was honored as a 2011-2012 Mountain West Scholar-Athlete. Last season, Moore made three more starts, finishing the year with 36 catches for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns. Once again, Kirby made the Mountain West All-Academic Team.Despite being injured a good part of his senior year, Moore has still managed to snare 29 passes (third on the team) for 206 yards and two touchdowns.In his Bronco career, the dependable Moore has 108 receptions to his credit for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns. Kirby is 14th in Boise State history with 41 catches by his sophomore season. Moore recently passed T.J. Acree and ranks 23rd in career catches.

#65 Matt Paradis, Center

Paradis was named Boise State's Defensive Scout Player of the Year as a redshirt freshman in 2009. He made the move to offense the following year and played in one game. In 2011, Paradis saw action in eight games, starting one. He helped the Bronco offense lead the nation with .62 sacks per game, and rank fifth in scoring with 44.23 points a contest. Last season, Matt was the go-to guy at center, starting in every game and earning All-Mountain West Conference honors. He helped Boise State allow .77 sacks per game, and finished the year being named to the Mountain West All-Academic Team.This year, Paradis helped the Bronco offense rank 14th in the country in first downs (280), 18th in scoring (38.2 points a game) and 20th in third-down conversion percentage (48.3%). Matt has started every game this season.

#16 Joe Southwick, Quarterback

Southwick played in eight games as a freshman, completing 17-24 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. Joe was named to the WAC All-Academic Team that year. In 2011, he continued to serve in backup duty, completing 23-30 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown against one interception. He also rushed one time for 16 yards. Joe earned All-Mountain West Academic honors again, and was named as a 2011-2012 Mountain West Scholar-Athlete. Southwick took the reins of the Bronco offense last season, and completed 248-371 passes for 2,730 yards (14th in Bronco history) and 19 touchdowns vs. 7 interceptions. He also ran the ball 46 times for 121 yards, had one catch for six yards, and punted the ball seven times, five inside the 20-yard line. Southwick finished the year with the fifth-best completion percentage (66.9%) in school history, #7 in completions (248), and ranked seventh for the most completions in a single season. With his 121 rushing yards last season, Southwick ranks 14th, compiling 2,851 yards of total offense. Joe's quarterback rating of 141.8 is the 16th best at Boise State, and his interception ratio of 1.89% (7 in 371 pass attempts) is #6 in school history. Southwick recorded the sixth-best single game in Bronco history, when he completed 17 of 20 passes (85.0%) against Colorado State on the road. Joe did all this while once again earning Mountain West All-Academic honors.

Prior to being injured on the first play from scrimmage against Nevada this season, Joe completed 149-of-206 passes (72.3%) for 1,589 yards and 11 touchdowns against 5 interceptions. Southwick ranks third in the Mountain West with a quarterback rating of 149.9. Joe has also run the ball 42 times for 111 yards this season. Combining with replacement Grant Hedrick, Southwick helped Boise State rank third in the nation for completion percentage (70.5%, 280-397).In his Bronco career, Southwick has completed 437 passes (6th all-time) in 631 attempts (8th at Boise State) for 4,719 yards and 32 touchdowns vs. just 13 interceptions. He has also run 89 times for 248 yards. Southwick ranks seventh in Boise State history in career passing yards (4,719), seventh in 200+ yards passing games (11), seventh in 300+ yards passing games (3) and is tied with Joe Aliotti for 10th all-time in career TD passes (32). Southwick passed Cedric Minter earlier this year and stands eighth all-time in total offense with 4,967 career yards.Depending on what Southwick does in his remaining games, he has a chance to break Kellen Moore's school record completion percentage (69.6%). To this point, Southwick has completed 69.26% of his passes (437-631). Joe is within range of Moore's school record for a season as well (74.3% in 2011), with a percentage of 72.3% thus far.Southwick is also on pace to surpass Ryan Dinwiddie with the second-lowest career interception ratio in Bronco history. So far, Southwick has thrown just 13 interceptions in 631 attempts (2.06%). Dinwiddie stands second only to Kellen Moore with a 2.1% from 2000-2003.

#43 Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe, Defensive Tackle

Ricky played in 12 games as a freshman, recording 24 tackles, 11 of them solo, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. The next year, Tjong-A-Tjoe played in seven games, posting 15 tackles, 7 of them solo, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. Ricky TAT become a key cog in the Boise State defense in 2012, starting 11 games. He finished the year with 37 tackles, (18 solo), with 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 passes defended and a fumble recovery.Ricky is the fifth-leading tackler on the Bronco defense in 2013, registering a career high 48 tackles, 19 of them solo, with 1 tackle for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 4 passes defended. He has started every game except one, in which an injury kept him out.Tjong-A-Tjoe has 124 career tackles, tying Billy Winn for 26th among defensive lineman, 55 of them solo, 15 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery, and 6 passes defended.

#62 Chris Tozer, Guard

Chris came to Boise State as a junior college transfer. He redshirted in 2011, then played in one game the following season.Tozer has played in ten games as a Bronco senior.You can look all across college football and not find a finer class of seniors. Thank-you for all the hard work you have put in, with special congratulations for your academic work. You have been an inspiration to future classes of Broncos!

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About Me

I have been a fan of Boise State since 1968. In 1975, I won a national Quill & Scroll award for Best Feature Writing. I graduated from Boise State in 1986 with a B.B.A. in Management. Since that time, I have researched and published several articles about the Broncos and have helped to raise $200,000 for the school as well as to sell out season football tickets and various other projects.